Faculty

Bridget K. Biggs

BRIDGET K. BIGGS

Assistant Professor, Applied Behavioral Sciences and Psychology

2012 Dole Human Development Center
Department Phone: 785.864.4840
Office phone: 785.864.4263
Fax: 785.864.5024
E-mail: biggsbk@ku.edu

B.A. in Psychology & German from the University of Notre Dame
M.S. in Clinical Psychology, Child Emphasis, from the Pennsylvania State University
Ph.D. in Clinical Child Psychology from the University of Kansas
Clinical internship at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior
Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Stanford University Medical Center, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Research Interests

  • The context of peer relations in social-emotional adjustment and psychopathology
  • The developmental psychopathology of anxiety disorders and other internalizing problems, especially during adolescence
  • Friendships and social networks
  • Bullying and peer victimization

work from a developmental-contextual model to understand children's social-emotional development in the peer context. I am interested in how children and adolescents' experiences with peers (e.g., friendships, peer acceptance, victimization from peers) influences and is influenced by their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. I am also interested in how these processes unfold across time and development. My work has addressed questions related to friendship jealousy, friendship quality following relocation, enemy relationships, bully-victim dynamics, and school-based interventions. A current focus of my work is on the role of peer relations in the developmental psychopathology of anxiety. I aim to understand better anxious youth’s social development, the processes underlying their difficulties and successes in the peer world, and how these experiences affect their emotional adjustment. Related to this area of research, I am also interested in measurement issues such as investigating the cross-cultural validity of measures and reporter effects. Ultimately, I aim to advance and apply psychological science toward effective prevention and treatment of social and emotional problems experienced by children and adolescents.

Clinical Interests

Clinically, I am interested in the treatment of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents, social skills training, and school-based interventions. I am familiar with a wide variety of evidence-based treatments. My theoretical framework draws strongly from the cognitive-behavioral and systems traditions but is also influenced by interpersonal and psychodynamic perspectives.

Selected Publications

Biggs, B. K., Vernberg, E. M., Twemlow, S. W., Fonagy, P., & Dill, E. J. (in press). Teacher adherence and its relation to teacher attitudes and student outcomes in an elementary school-based violence prevention program. School Psychology Review.

Varela, R. E., Sanchez-Sosa, J. J., Biggs, B. K., & Luis, T. (in press). Parenting strategies and socio-cultural influences in childhood anxiety: Mexican, Latin American descent, and European American families. Journal of Anxiety Disorders.

Twemlow, S. W., Biggs, B. K., Nelson, T. D., Vernberg, E. M., Fonagy, P., & Twemlow, S. W. (in press). Effects of participation in a martial art-based anti-bullying program on children’s aggression in elementary schools. Psychology in the Schools.

Randall, C. J., & Biggs, B. K. (2008) Enhancing therapeutic gains: Fidelity to the Intensive Mental Health Program treatment model. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 17, 191-205.
     
Varela, R. E., Sanchez-Sosa, J. J., Biggs, B. K., & Luis, T. (2008). Anxiety Symptoms and fears in Hispanic and European American children: Cross-cultural measurement equivalence. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 30, 132-145.

Vernberg, E. M., Roberts, M. C., Jacobs, A. K., Randall, C. J, Biggs, B. K., & Nyre, J. E. (2008). Outcomes and findings of program evaluation for the Intensive Mental Health Program. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 17, 178-190.

Vernberg, E. M., Greenhoot, A., & Biggs, B. K. (2006). Intercommunity relocation and adolescent friendships: Who struggles and why? Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74, 511-523.

Varela, R. E., & Biggs, B. K (2006). Reliability and validity of the RCMAS across samples of Mexican, Mexican American, and European American children: A preliminary investigation. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping: An International Journal, 19, 67-80.

Randall, C. J., Nyre, J. E., & Biggs, B. K. (2006).Building successful alliances with health care professionals. In C. Franklin, M. B. Harris, & P. Allen-Meares (Eds.), The school services sourcebook: A guide for social workers, counselors, and mental health professionals (pp. 233-244). New York: Oxford.

Parker, J. G., Low, C. M., Walker, A. R., & Gamm [Biggs], B. K. (2005). Children’s friendship jealousy: Assessment of individual differences and links to sex, self-esteem, aggression, and social adjustment. Developmental Psychology, 41, 235-250.

Dill, E. J., Vernberg, E. M., Fonagy, P., Twemlow, S. W., & Gamm [Biggs], B. K. (2004). Negative affect in victimized children: The roles of social withdrawal, peer rejection, and attitudes toward bullying. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 32, 159-173.

Parker, J. G., & Gamm [Biggs], B. K. (2003). Describing the dark side of children’s peer experiences: Four questions (and data) on children’s enemies. In E. V. E. Hodges & N. Card (Eds.), The (unwanted) company they keep: Enemy relationships in childhood and adolescence. New Directions in Child Development (pp.55-72). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Vernberg, E. M., & Gamm [Biggs], B. K. (2003). Resistance to violence prevention interventions in schools: Barriers and solutions. Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, 5, 125-138.